Burnley 2 Sunderland 0

He won’t admit it, but David Moyes might well be grateful for the gaps in the fixture list that have been created by last night’s replay defeat at the hands of Burnley, which came courtesy of Sam Vokes’ first-half header and substitute Andre Gray’s late strike. If the Black Cats boss was really stretching it, he could even take satisfaction from the way in which his switch to a five-man defence ensured there was no repeat of the wholesale defensive collapse that saw his side ship four league goals at Turf Moor on New Year’s Eve.

But for all that last night’s events do not matter a great deal in the grand scheme of things, it would be wrong to write them off too lightly. Sunderland’s failure to force Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope into a single meaningful save until Seb Larsson fired in a stoppage-time free-kick was indicative of an attacking malaise that threatens to scupper any hopes of survival.

Without Jermain Defoe, who was left on the bench for the opening hour, the Black Cats look completely devoid of a goal threat. Even with him, they are stuck in a troubling rut.

Last night’s result means they have now won just one of their last nine matches in all competitions, and whatever permutation Moyes goes with, the general lack of quality within his squad is apparent. Whether in the cup or the league, you cannot fashion a silk purse from a sow’s ear, and if Ellis Short harbours any serious ambitions of remaining in the top-flight, he will surely have to allow his manager to do at least some wheeling and dealing in the final two weeks of the transfer window.

Moyes might have made the right noises after his side drew their initial tie at the Stadium of Light, but the Sunderland boss could really have done without last night’s trip across the Pennines.

A desire to progress to a potentially winnable fourth-round tie was always going to have to be balanced against the need to ensure the availability of Sunderland’s key players for Saturday’s trip to West Brom, a game that assumed even greater importance when the Black Cats imploded against Stoke at the weekend.

It was no surprise to see Defoe and John O’Shea rested on the sidelines – Jack Rodwell also dropped out of the starting line-up – but Moyes’ obvious reluctance to ask too much of his untried youngsters mitigated against too many alterations.

George Honeyman, a Prudhoe-born 22-year-old, came in for his third senior appearance in midfield, but rather than turn to the kids, Moyes stocked his side with right-backs. There were three in total – four if you count Jason Denayer, who has also played at full-back in the past – although Billy Jones played as one of three centre-halves as Moyes switched to five at the back.

The Scotsman’s obvious priority was to tighten up a defence that had looked all over the place during the opening 45 minutes against Stoke, and to that end, last night’s events represented a marked improvement from Saturday’s horror show. Or at least they did for 44 minutes of the first half.

Prior to Vokes breaking the deadlock on the stroke of half-time, Sunderland had looked reasonably composed in their new-look formation. Patrick van Aanholt was occasionally caught too far upfield, enabling George Boyd to attack down Burnley’s right-hand side, but with Denayer marshalling things at the heart of the backline and Jones not looking out of place alongside him, the Black Cats frustrated their hosts for much of the first half.

Vito Mannone had to make three saves in the space of three minutes early on – the pick saw the Italian tip Boyd’s rising drive over the crossbar – but having looked so uncertain at the weekend, even the Italian was exuding a sense of calm authority for the majority of the opening period.

So it was something of a surprise when Burnley broke the deadlock with a goal of stark simplicity. Tendayi Darikwa whipped in a cross from the right-hand side, Denayer was caught flat-footed in the heart of his own penalty box, and Vokes stole ahead of the Belgian to glance a deft header into the far corner.

It was an excellent finish from the striker, who was deputising for Gray, but he did not have to work too hard to get his head onto the ball.

Sunderland’s first-half attacking was pitiful, with Fabio Borini barely getting a kick as he was smothered by Michael Keane and Adnan Januzaj flattering to deceive as he cut in from the right-hand side to minimal effect. Not for the first time this season, Januzaj’s lack of end product undermined everything else he did reasonably well.

Burnley’s opener meant the visitors had to adopt a more positive mind-set after the break, and Larsson at least managed to fashion his side’s first real effort within four minutes of the restart.

A slick counter-attack saw Larsson play a one-two with Javier Manquillo, but the Swede’s 20-yard curler drifted over the top of the crossbar.

The fact that Larsson was Sunderland’s most threatening player was hardly a good sign, however, with the visitors’ attacking impotence providing further evidence of their wholesale reliance on Defoe. When Moyes turned to the 34-year-old in the 62nd minute, it felt more like a cry for help than a substitution.

Sunderland might have been two goals behind before Defoe was on the field had Papy Djilobodji not produced a superb last-ditch challenge to prevent Vokes from pulling the trigger ten yards out, or Mannone not got down so well to keep out Boyd’s bouncing effort.

Joey Barton curled a free-kick over the crossbar on the hour mark, and while Defoe’s introduction was intended to boost Sunderland’s attacking threat in the final stages, it was a Burnley replacement who had the final say.

Gray tortured the Sunderland defence as he scored a hat-trick on New Year’s Eve, and he was only on the pitch for seven minutes before he made his presence felt again.

Boyd’s through ball teed him up in the area, and he picked up where he left off at the end of last month and he slid home a precise finish.